


Love on the Brain

by Aphroditedany



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-25
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-18 05:47:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28987329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aphroditedany/pseuds/Aphroditedany
Summary: Three letters in red colour appear on his wrist when he turns 18. Three letters in red colour appear on her wrist as well.
Relationships: Wanda Maximoff/Tony Stark
Comments: 22
Kudos: 47





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Rix1998](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rix1998/gifts).



Three letters in red colour appear on his wrist the morning of his 18th birthday. Out of nowhere. 

_WMM_

He really has no fucking idea what that means. The only thing he is certain of, is that it can't be explained with scientific laws. 

It messes with his life too. Whoever woman he sleeps with, he has an irresistible urge to throw up afterwards. Each and every one of them feels wrong. As if his very soul rejects them. Sometimes he does throw up. 

He doesn't stop searching. He doesn't stop having sex with every woman is willing, either. 

When he finds an ancient book, translated from ancient Greek to English, talking about soulmates and how the myth started, he almost laughs with the absurdity. 

_"When the mighty God of Olympus and Father of all Gods, Zeus, made the humans, he initially merged two bodies, two souls in one. Those first humans had two heads, four arms and legs, two genders, but shared the same piece of heart. They were extremely intelligent and powerful, but also arrogant. Father Zeus, irritated with their insolence, separated the double humans into different bodies, but each body took only one half of the soul. So, condemned we, their descendants, remain until today to wander in the world, to find the missing piece of our soul._

_Those who are lucky, will be given their soulmate's initials on their wrists when they come of age. But colours will tell the nature of their relationship with their other half. Blue letters mean a quiet, tender relationship, a love without much obstacles or great clashes. Red letters, those can promise fire and passion, anger and love in equal measure. Soulmates with red letters on their wrists are one of a kind. If they find each other, they have higher chances to be reborn and find each other again, than these with blue letters. But blue letters usually mean happier lives, whereas soulmates with red initials are almost certainly bound to loss and tragedy. "_

Something inside him warns him not to ignore what he has read, no matter how ridiculous it sounds. Tentatively, he caresses the red letters on his wrist and continues reading. The next words make his blood freeze in his veins. 

_"When the letters appear on their wrists, no matter the colour, soulmates can not bond with another person properly. Their souls call to each other even if they don't know it. Intimate relationships with other people than their soulmates can make them feel great dysphoria with their bodies, even leading to stomach sickness or fainting. The soulmate bond is not to be trifled with; it is precious and pure, and intimacy with someone else taints and strains it. "_

Refusing to read more of that nonsense, Tony closes the book.

* * *


	2. Chapter 2

Three red letters appear on her wrist when she turns 18. 

_AES_

Trained by witches and wizards since she can remember herself, it doesn't take long to understand what these letters mean. She is so excited, knowing she has a soulmate somewhere, and it seems he has already been born. Perhaps he is older than her, but she doesn't care.

Wanda is happy.

* * *

_"I am almost certain you have a soulmate. A powerful witch and mutant like you needs an anchillary.", Cthon tells her as they are training._

_"Ancillary?", Wanda asks curiously._

_"An ancillary is a witch or wizard's soulmate. They help the witch or wizard to achieve full control on their powers and reach their maximum potential, but only if they meet and complete the bond. They provide stability. All in all, they are essential for your existence."_

_"I guess I don't want to know what completing the bond means.", she murmurs as she dodges another attack._

_Cthon grins. "It means intimacy, Wanda. Don't fret about it. We wizards and witches are very sexual beings. You'll discover it some years later."_

_"For now, I'm 13 and I don't want to hear more of it!"_

_Her teacher only laughs and they move on to another lesson._

* * *

When that damn bomb from Stark Industries falls on their heads and kills her parents, Wanda and Pietro swear revenge for their deaths. Killing Tony Stark becomes her life mission, makes her ignore the letters that have suddenly appear on her wrist.

During their time with von Struker and their training with the Mind Stone, she has all the time to pond over her magical abilities. She had stopped focusing on them, choosing to hone her natural mutant powers instead. But sometimes, she absent-mindedly caresses the letters on her wrist.

* * *

One day, she takes some files for research and her eyes fall on Stark's archive. Curiosity wins and she opens his file.

"Huh. Seems the pretentious bastard has two names. Anthony Edward..."

_No. No,no,no, no._

Horrified, she takes a look at the initials of her soulmate. The bond feels strange, but it is there, and her fears are confirmed.

_AES_

Her screams fill her chambers for at least half an hour.


	3. WANDA

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Sokovia events.

_Finally._

After so many years, she has Tony Stark exactly where she wants him. All open and vulnerable to her manipulations.

Just before she makes him face his worst fears, she delves deeply into his mind. From pure curiosity.

_Oh God._

She has met very few people who are as broken as Tony Stark is. All the years of neglect from his father, the devastation from his mother's loss, the endless women who did nothing to heal his wounds. And his mind, the most brilliant, the most complex part of him. 

He is just as scarred as she is.

She is left stunned and trembling behind him for some moments. There is no way this broken, haunted man in front of her to be Tony Stark. The arrogant billionaire, the weapon manufacturer, _the merchant of death._

The destroyer of her family.

She hesitates. What she has seen does not allow her to move forward. She can't harm him, especially with the added knowledge he is her soulmate, her ancillary.

And, once again in her life, she makes the wrong choice.

* * *

_some days later_

With her heart and soul numb from the shock and the pain, she wanders in the city.

They managed to destroy Ultron, all of them together. _But at what cost?_

Children run around, crying hysterically, shouting for their parents. Mothers, fathers, the elderly ones, people without homes, without their families, left with absolutely _nothing._ Her country left in ruins.

_Her brother dead._

All because of the pent-up rage against Stark, because of her desire to get revenge.

It means nothing anymore. She is empty.

_What good is power for, if you can't protect the ones you love?_

After a while and a much needed conversation with Captain America, she gathers the courage to speak with Tony. She finds him in a destroyed mansion, trying to soothe some children and tending to the wounded.

He doesn't wear the Iron Man armor anymore. He is in a simple black T-shirt and black jeans. His cheeks have multiple scratches, and it seems he is walking with difficulty.

None of them is left unscathed. Except for the God of Thunder, of course.

Somehow, he is sensing her approaching him, because his posture becomes rigid. Slowly, he turns around and she comes face to face with the man whose death she has been planning all these years.

There is no arrogance, no anger in his eyes. Only a look of despondence and tiredness.

"If you want to finish me now, do it." he tells, turning his attention back to the children. "Now it's the least likely I'll defend myself."

"I don't want to kill you. Not anymore. Not after what we did here, with Ultron."

He turns his stare back to her, something akin rage shining in his eyes. She stiffens, getting ready to attack if he picks up a fight.

"We messed up pretty badly, Maximoff. We fucked this up. Ultron wasn't supposed to become a genocidal machine. And you weren't supposed to dig into things you should have never learnt."

She looks him straight in the eye. "I had to do this. I had to avenge my parents. You made me who I am."

"I made you? When the bomb fell nearby your house, it was Stane who managed the company on my behalf. Obadiah Stane. How was I supposed to know he had been working with criminals?"

"I don't know. It was your company after all. You should have cared more about the destination of your... _products._ "

"Blame me all you want for your parents. But don't you dare lay all the fault of this mayhem we caused today, on me only. Do you even know what you played with? Do you know what these people mean to me?" He raises his voice slightly, barely controlling his anger though.

"Whatever they are to you, they are not family. It's not the same."

"You think you're the only one who has lost their parents, don't you? Hate to break it to you, but I'm an orphan as well, for far more years than you. My parents were killed by some paid assassin when I was still a teenager. I had to live all on my own after that. No friends, no siblings, no nothing." Probably without realising it, he starts rubbing his wrist and when he stops, she notices three red letters on it.

_WMM_

She takes in a ragged breath as he approaches her until they are nothing but an inch away. 

"I am deeply, profoundly sorry for what I did to you. I am sorry for your parents' deaths, I am sorry you lost all you held dear because of me. I am sorry I didn't care enough to stop Stane earlier. I am sorry I never tried to find you, to amend my mistakes. But _this..._ " he raises his arm and shows her the burnt buildings, the dead and injured people around them "...this is as much your mistake as it is mine. Don't blame only me just because it suits you. We destroyed your country, you and me both. And unlike when you lost your parents, you are not a child anymore. So do me a favour. Step in and take on your fucking responsibilities. Behaving as an entitled brat for the rest of your life won't do you any good, as it didn't do any good to me."

Before she has a chance to think of a reply- because, _fuck_ , he is right, he is so right- he leaves to meet the Avengers, leaving her amongst ruins once more.


	4. TONY

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Civil War and a painful revelation.

Of course this would happen eventually. _Of fucking course._

The UN want to pass the Avengers Accords, in an attempt to control the team and the mayhem they usually leave behind them. In a sense, he is completely against it. On the other hand, he can't keep ignoring all the destructions they have caused in their few missions. New York and Loki, Sokovia and Ultron, who knows what will become next? How many innocents will die because of them?

_And how many innocents will be saved because of us? It's not that we are the villains in this._

_When whole cities are getting burnt from the ground, then perhaps we are not heroes either._

The others seem to be deep in thought as well. So far, Nat and Rhodey have sided with him, and he is certain Bruce would agree with him as well, had he been there.

Bruce. Who decided to leave because of all that shit that _she_ showed them. Because she convinced him he is a worthless monster, that he doesn't deserve to live among other people. Natasha tries very hard not to show her feelings, but he knows she is heartbroken, even if she never explicitly told him about what Maximoff showed her.

_Nothing good, that's for certain._

The witch has the audacity to seem unpertrubed by all of this, refusing to recognise she has any responsibility about the Sokovia tragedy. Cap and Barton play quite well the role of the protective guardians, who are unwilling to critisize their little girl and make her understand.

_Seems I have become the convenient villain once again. And I thought we were a team._

When Vision intervenes, he stuns everyone silent. But it's not enough to shake them.

* * *

It is mostly what he expected, really. It's brutal, and forceful, and it tears the team apart. 

What he didn't expect, was the raw betrayal from the man he considered an ally and a friend.

He also didn't expect to find Maximoff in his house after the battle, when everyone else from Rogers' team have fled.

He is beyond tired to give her a second. "What do you want?", he rasps as he is struggling to take his armor off.

She hiccups, and he decides to lift his gaze upon her. To his astonishment, there are tears glistening in her eyes.

"I didn't come to harm you. I didn't even want to come, but my conscience can't bear it anymore."

"Funny. I thought you and I were beyond trivial conceptions such as conscience and guilt."

"Please, Tony. You have to hear me."

This is enough to unsettle him. "It's the first time you ever call me by my name."

She nods. "Your name. Anthony Edward Stark, to be exact. Right?"

"Yes." A lump forms in his throat. "Anthony was chosen by my father, Edward by my mother."

Tentatively, Wanda approaches him and closes her fingers around his right hand, around his wrist. Lifting the blouse, she inspects the three red letters written on it.

His heart starts beating faster. _Does she know something? She must know. She's a witch after all, this is magic..._

"These are the soulmates initials you have on your wrist. WMM. Somewhere in the world, there is your soulmate, waiting to meet with you so you can complete the bond."

"I didn't know you were invested in my personal affairs so much, Maximoff. If I shall ever find her, I will let you know."

She takes a deep breath and lifts her own wrist in front of him. "There is no need. She is standing right in front of you."

All his blood freezes his veins. On her wrist, with red colours, three letters are written.

_AES._

He is starting to feel dizzy. "No. No, it can't be... Anything else than this. Anyone else than this."

Something akin hurt passes through her eyes, before her cold mask of indifference slips on again. "Trust me, you are the last person in the world I would wish for a soulmate. But we can't keep ignoring this. Sooner or later, we'll have to bond. We can't go on as enemies. We are not destined to."

"Since when?", he manages to croak after he sits on a chair. "Since when have you been aware of... the soulmate bond?" The words are like acid on his tongue.

"Almost since when I started working for Strucker."

"And why are you seeking me now? Why? Why after all the malicious things we have done to each other? Why after today? Don't try to convince me you are helplessly in love with me, Maximoff, I won't buy it."

"I told you. We need to complete the bond. As a witch, you're not only my soulmate, you are my ancillary. You're the one who will help me reach stability and full maturity of my powers."

"And what is in it for me? How do I know you won't harm me after we complete the bond?"

"I'm not stupid, Tony. Your death would only mean my destruction. It would all be for nothing."

"And how do we complete the bond? Blood sacrifice, vows, a secret ritual..."

Wanda blushes all over. "Intercourse."

He laughs out loud. "I'm sorry, I thought I misheard you. Did you say intercourse? Sex?"

"Yes, Tony, we would have to have sex with each other."

Something snaps within him. She had actively tried to kill him months ago, she tried it again today, and now she demands they become a couple and complete the magic bond, so she will be able to control her powers.

"I see.", he drawls sarcastically. "All for you, then. Nothing for me. You would get stability and full control of your powers, and I get to bond with a woman that absolutely hates me. How alluring. Let me think about..." He takes one more step closer to her, barely containing his anger. "...No. I don't want to be with you. In any way."

Wanda's eyes widen. "You can't possibly mean that. You need me, and I need you as well. For once, think about someone else's good beside your own!"

"Correction. You need me. I don't need anything from you. And I don't think I am that valuable to you. You don't really want to be with me. What you need, is a puppy. A man who will constantly tell you how wonderful you are, that you are not to blame for anything you do, that you are innocent and good, that you are the most perfect woman in the world. While we both know these are outrageous lies, I also know I can't be your puppy."

Judging from the anger in her eyes, he has hit a nerve. Without another word, she picks up her red coat and leaves. When she opens the door, she hesitates.

"I don't want a puppy, Tony. I'd like to have a strong man by my side. A man who can challenge me, who can recognise my mistakes but also can see past them. And maybe, maybe you could show me how to love. We both have been alone for way too long."

He sits in total silence for hours after her departure, absent-mindedly touching the initials on his wrist. Feeling the walls suffocating him, he grabs the keys of his Porsche and runs to the garage. He travels as far away from the city as possible, the speed increasing with every angry roar of the custom-made V12 engine.

Her final words echo in his ears.

_I've been on my own for long enough_   
_Maybe you can show me how to love_

_Maybe..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are some lyrics from a very popular song in this chapter. Let's see how observative you are ;) ;)


	5. WANDA

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Infinity War.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains a scene that some might find sensitive or offensive.

When she feels that uncofortable coiling in her insides, she immediately knows there is something wrong with Tony. The bond may be incomplete, but it has developed and matured. If one of them is harmed in any way, the other will be able to feel it.

Following him through the bond, Wanda finds him in Titan. Thanos is holding him by the throat in his fist, having already stabbed him. She tracks the blood that has filled the ground beneath them...

_He stabbed him in the heart._

Tony is slowly losing consciousness, and she senses there is not much time left. With a smirk, Thanos takes the Time Stone from Strange and flees, leaving a bleeding Tony on the ground.

"Tony! Hold on!"

"It may be too late.", Strange whispers. "His end is near."

"No. No, it's not. I will help him. _I must._ I..." A sob drowns her voice. "I should have done it earlier, given him more protection."

A whisper comes from the body in her hands. "Wanda..."

She looks at the man she had been hating for all her life, the man she held accountable for all the tragedies of her life, even those she had caused herself. He is choking on his own blood. 

In other times, she wouldn't have hesitated to finish him off. But now, now she can't. Not with the knowledge of who he really is.

Not now that she knows she loves the man.

"Tony, please, don't give up. Try and stay conscious. Please... I will transport us back to Earth, I will heal you..."

He gives her a bloody smile, lifting his hand to caress her hair with what she suspects are his last powers. "Will... Can you forgive me? For... what I did... to you? Please... Say you forgive me."

The tears finally fall. "There is nothing to forgive. You did nothing wrong. Please, Tony, please don't leave me..."

"I had dreamt of you... sometimes. I had seen you in my dreams... Before we met... I didn't know then... But... it gave me peace... I felt safe... loved..."

He closes his eyes just at the moment she transports them back to Earth.

* * *

The doctor seems to have lost all hope as he exits the room. Wanda, Rhodey and Happy are waiting. She didn't let Rogers or any of his former teammates to come.

"I did my best. But... He may be beyond saving now. The blade pierced his left lung and seriously injured his heart. And the bloodloss... He may be dead within 24 hours."

"No!" Happy exclaims, eyes wide with desperation. "There must be something else we can do!"

"Actually, we can. I can.", she whispers. "Thank you, doctor Sanders. I need a moment to talk with Mr Hogan."

"Happy, will you be okay mate?" Rhodey is still suspicious of her.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Don't worry."

When they are left alone, Wanda turns to face him.

"Has Tony ever talked with you about our soulmate bond?"

"Very few things. Only the basics. Why are you asking?"

"There is a way I can save him. The only way. I must complete the bond."

"And how will you do that?"

_Oh, he doesn't know. Thank God._

"Uhm... I will do a blood ritual, with my blood. Perform some incantations. When the bond is complete, I will have transferred some of my life force to Tony. I think it will be enough to heal him."

"I don't know you well enough, Maximoff. You have hurt Tony in more ways you may know. But... I am desperate now. All I need is my friend to come back. If you say you can save him, do it. Do what's necessary. Since the doctors say they can't do anything else..."

She looks him straight in the eye. "You can count on me. Just make sure that no one will come towards his room. You understand... Blood rituals, spells... They won't like it."

Happy nods resolutely. "Consider it done."

* * *

Tony is much worse than she originally thought. He has been put it mechanical support, he is totally unsconscious.

Taking a deep breath, she prepares herself mentally. She can easily deal with the lung injury and the blood loss, but his heart...

She casts some spells, so he can't feel pain, but he will also be unable to hear, see, smell or move at all. She lowers all the lights in the room and starts chanting.

_Corpus curare. Da mihi fortitudinem eius. Sanguis meum, et facti sunt ei in sanguine suo._

She repeats the incantation five times, until she feels her own force being transferred to him. Slowly but steadily, his blood is replenished and his lungs are healed. He doesn't need the mechanical support anymore.

Carefully, she disconnects him from the machines and, to her relief, he is breathing normally and steadily. She turns off the lights in the room and undresses. Her cheeks are burning with embarrassment as she lowers the covers on Tony's body and finds him completely naked as well.

"Forgive me." Tears fill her eyes, as she slowly strokes his length and licks it, trying to stimulate him. "I have no other way to heal you completely. I don't hate you, Tony. And I can't let you die. I know you may not want this, I know I don't have your consent, but try to understand... You will never know of it. I will never hurt you again."

He doesn't answer of course. He is too deep in the sleep-like situation she has put him into.

* * *

_He doesn't know where he is. He is dressed in thin white clothes, a shirt and trousers, and he is barefoot._

_Damn him if it isn't gorgeous, though. He is obviously on an island. Golden sand under his feet, clear blue sky and an endless sea lay in front of him._

_A familiar voice coming from behind him startles him. "Wonderful, isn't it?"_

_His mouth hangs open when he sees Wanda standing behind him, a tender smile on her lips. Her hair falls in glossy waves down to her waist, her lips are painted with a soft cherry red colour. She is dressed in nothing but a sheer red dress that leaves nothing in the imagination. He can clearly see the dark nipples, her curves..._

_She seems amused as she takes him from the hand for a walk in the deep forest. Sweet fragrances fill his senses. "Are we dead?"_

_She laughs, a melodious laughter that he has never heard coming from her lips. "No, Tony. This is real. We are real. Alive, breathing, with blood in our veins."_

_"But Thanos..."_

_She puts a finger on his lips, effectively stopping him. "Shh... Don't think about it. Yes, he defeated us. But life doesn't end here. Our road doesn't end here."_

_After a while, they reach their destination. He is speechless._

_A small, quaint wooden house is in the middle of the tropical forest. Gorgeous flowers of every colour are dominant, overshadowing even the large coconut and cocoa trees. Birds fill the forest with their sweet songs, and he can even see a female lion sleeping quietly behind the large bushes._

_Dream. He must be dreaming, but this feels so real..._

_Silencing the voice of logic inside him, Tony steps inside the room. The sight that greets him is enough to take his breath away. Wanda is waiting for him on the bed, completely naked. Her blue eyes sparkle with the sun rays, the sunlight falls on all the right places on her body, highlighting everything a man would be thirsty to touch and taste. H_ e _walks towards the bed and takes his own clothes off before lying down with Wanda._

_"What are we?", he whispers. "What are we, Wanda? And what are we doing?"_

_"We are soulmates. Meant to be lovers. Meant to feel passion and love like no other." She caresses the red letters on his wrist softly, sending shivers all over his body. He responds in a way he doesn't want to show, and Wanda laughs when he tries to hide._

_"Have you forgiven me for all the pain I have caused you? For all your losses?"_

_"I already have. Don't think about our past anymore. Think about the future. Think about us. We are here, you and me. No one will ever find us. We are free. Free to love, free to feel. For once in your life, choose love, Tony."_

_Tentatively but surely, tenderly but passionately, their bodies blend together under the soft sun rays. They touch, lick, caress and bite. They become one with sighs, moans and mewls. They couple again and again, sometimes frantically and sometimes simply taking their time._

_And every time they reach their cresendo and he hears her whispering his name like a prayer, he knows he has finally found where he belongs._

* * *

She sighs, buttoning the last button of her shirt. After six hours and many sessions of sex, she has managed to establish the bond and stabilize Tony's condition. His heart is totally healed.

She repeatedly told herself she hasn't truly raped him, because it was a matter of life or death, but she can't shake the guilt.

And her feelings towards the man can not be ignored anymore. But she must leave.

She unlocks the door and finds a sleeping Happy on a nearby chair. She gently shakes him until he groggily opens his eyes. It takes him some seconds to remember where he is.

"How did it go? Have you healed him?"

"Yes. He is totally healthy. His body is completely healed from his wounds. But he may still need some more blood."

Happy looks relieved. "That's fine. We can handle some blood transfusions."

"Happy... You must promise me something." She forces her tears back, trying to speak. "Don't ever tell Tony about what I did tonight. Just... I don't know. Find an excuse. Tell him it was the doctors, or that it was a miracle. Don't tell him about my magic. I don't want him to know." Turning her back to the astounded man, she makes a move to leave. Happy gently grabs her from the wrist.

"Why? Why shouldn't he know? Wanda, you saved him. He has every right..."

"Promise me, Happy!!!", she shouts desperately, and she can't hold her sobs back anymore. "Promise me! He mustn't learn a thing! Never! Promise me!"

Happy seems to be struggling, until he sighs and lets her wrist. "I promise. He won't hear a thing from me. You have my word. But... But why?"

She doesn't give him an answer. Not until she has left the hospital and is far away enough from everyone.

_"Because he will hate me."_


End file.
